Chapter 460 - 59: Apocalypse (Middle)

"Hmph!"

Hex Yong snorted, pursed his lips, and blew gently forward.

A ghastly green radioactive smoke billowed from his mouth. For anyone enveloped by it, the beta decay of the atoms in their body would accelerate wildly. Within a few breaths, their flesh would turn as transparent as glass, and their skeleton would dissolve into drifting phosphorescence.

Even a Martial Saint would find it difficult to resist.

Hex Yong was not skilled in close-quarters combat, but the Cultivation Techniques he had mastered were all astonishingly powerful.

Wuh Ping charged forward like a bolt of lightning, and after throwing just a few punches, his skin was already turning transparent.

"Ignorant!"

Hex Yong said as he dodged:

"The Human Race is weak. The reason we’ve been able to survive in this post-apocalyptic wasteland and even suppress powerful Exotic Beasts isn’t because of our raw physical strength. It’s because we know how to use our intelligence."

"Your strength is indeed impressive, but what good is it in the face of atomic decay?"

"Is that so?" A cold smirk appeared on Wuh Ping’s face. His legs became a blur as he kicked out, the terrifying force sending Hex Yong flying into a skyscraper. With a thunderous roar, the dozens of stories of the tall building collapsed.

"How could this be?"

Covered in dust and grime, Hex Yong flew out from the cloud of smoke, staring at Wuh Ping in astonishment, his eyes flickering.

"Your body can withstand atomic decay?"

"That’s right." Wuh Ping didn’t rush to attack. Instead, he stretched his arms and legs and said slowly,

"I stole the genes of a Spirit Lizard Beast. My regenerative abilities far exceed those of an ordinary person, so the weakening effect of atomic decay has no impact on me."

"But you weren’t counting on this move to kill me, were you?"

Hex Yong’s expression darkened.

"A spiritual toxin!" Wuh Ping grinned.

"The radioactive smoke you spat out doesn’t just cause decay. It’s also mixed with a spiritual toxin that disrupts a creature’s nervous system, causing mental confusion and rendering them unable to resist."

"You knew?" Hex Yong’s eyes flickered.

"The spiritual toxin is also ineffective against you?"

"That’s right!" Wuh Ping’s face contorted.

"The Cultivation Technique I practice is incomplete. My consciousness started showing abnormalities when I was at the peak of the Martial Artist Realm. To solve this problem, I scoured the entire Federation’s records and finally found a special Exotic Beast."

"The Queen of Ten Thousand Poisons!"

"This Exotic Beast’s Physical Body has absolutely no Defensive Power, but it possesses an incredible Spiritual Power. It is precisely because I absorbed its genes that I was able to win over so many experts in such a short time."

"The Treasure Manual!"

Wuh Ping stared at the Treasure Manual behind Hex Yong, his eyes filled with fanaticism.

"It contains countless genes yet maintains its form, and it can even adjust the genetic makeup of the Human Race. If I had it..."

"It would surely help me achieve the Body of Ten Thousand Spirits and even reach the legendary Realm of the Supreme Person."

"Give it to me!"

He reached out a large hand. To his surprise, Hex Yong was frozen in place, unable to move, watching helplessly as the Treasure Manual was snatched away.

’Poison!’

’When was I poisoned?’

’Was it just now?’

’No wonder he was willing to waste time talking. He was just stalling for the poison to take effect.’

Realization dawned on Hex Yong, but it was too late. His body lost control and plummeted toward the ground.

"The Treasure Manual!"

Clutching the Treasure Manual, Wuh Ping’s face lit up with ecstasy. Just as he was about to teleport away, his vision suddenly blurred.

Imaginary Number Space!

Covered in blood, Yun Xiang appeared silently behind him, stretching out his five fingers and clenching them into a fist.

"Leave it behind!"

"Old fool!" Wuh Ping’s face twisted into a snarl. His powerful Spiritual Power condensed into a sharp spike and shot forward.

Neutrino Soul-Shocking Needle!

The Ant Queen is a peculiar Exotic Beast. Although its physical defense and attack power are zero, its Spiritual Power is freakishly strong.

A single Ant Queen can control tens of millions of ants.

And Wuh Ping, having stolen the Ant Queen’s bloodline, now possessed Spiritual Power that surpassed the Martial Saint Level. The might of his Secret Techniques was even more terrifying.

In that instant, the ethereal Spiritual Power materialized into a tangible wave that struck Yun Xiang squarely.

BOOM!

The sound of impact rang out.

Both figures were thrown back at the same time.

"The Treasure Manual!"

Wuh Ping felt a weight lift from his hand; the Treasure Manual he had just acquired had been stolen. He couldn’t help but roar in fury,

"It’s mine!"

"The Treasure Manual belongs to all of humanity." Yun Xiang held the Treasure Manual with a solemn expression and chanted in a low voice,

"Glory eventually turns to dust; order must succumb to entropy."

Neutron Star Fist!

The terrifying power granted by the Imaginary Number Space encompassed nearly all of the four fundamental forces.

With a single clench of his fist.

"CRACKLE... POP..."

Even though Wuh Ping’s Physical Body was comparable to a Holy King Beast’s, he couldn’t help but scream in agony as he was blasted into the ground.

"Hahh... Hahh..."

Although he had defeated Wuh Ping in one move, the successive battles combined with the spiritual attack had left Yun Xiang’s consciousness hazy, and his body swayed unsteadily.

Fortunately, he was safe now.

ZING!

Suddenly, a melodious sword cry rang out.

The sound wasn’t loud, but it ignored the barrier of space and appeared directly in Yun Xiang’s mind, accompanied by an endless surge of energy.

How could this be?

Yun Xiang’s eyes widened.

As the wielder of the Imaginary Number Space, even a Holy King Beast was far from his equal in terms of pure power.

But now, he could feel a vast, boundless, and terrifying power from the approaching Sword Light.

BOOM!

In just an instant, the Imaginary Number Space was forcibly torn apart.

Fortunately, the newcomer seemed to bear him no ill will, merely unleashing a force field that pushed him aside.

The Treasure Manual, however, was left to face the sharp Sword Light head-on.

’He wants to destroy the Treasure Manual?’

"No!"

Yun Xiang’s eyes widened and he roared in fury, but he was powerless to stop it. He could only watch as the Sword Light fell upon the Treasure Manual.

BOOM!

A blinding light flashed, instantly engulfing all of Funeng City and expanding outward at an astonishing speed.

*

*

*

「The Federation.」

Hundreds of people were gathered in a large hall, each with a virtual screen in front of them.

"Satellite Three has lost visual!"

"Satellite Nine has lost visual!"

"..."

The hall was in chaos. Staff members shouted one after another, and tense expressions were on everyone’s faces.

"What in the world is happening?"

A man in a white lab coat who was in charge here frowned, his brow deeply furrowed.

"General Lin, what’s going on with Funeng City?"

Through the feeds of the satellites that hadn’t yet been destroyed, they could see the situation at the edge of Funeng City.

Bizarre!

Incomprehensible!

Skyscrapers squirmed like living creatures, and the very ground seemed to have come alive, undulating slightly.

Mountains warped, and vegetation twisted.

One by one, satellites spun out of control and fell from the sky. Even the interiors of the Warships were experiencing anomalies.

General Lin held a pipe in his hand. He took a long drag, his eyes narrowed, and said slowly,

"In the early days of the Great Catastrophe, the sages of the Human Race found the ’Treasure Manual’ and discovered its special ability to modify genes."

"And the place where they found it..."

"...was a mountain of flesh."

"A mountain of flesh?" The man in the lab coat frowned.

"What does that have to do with the situation we’re facing now?"

"It wasn’t originally a Physical Body. It was a city." General Lin shook his head and continued,

"According to our research, when the ’Treasure Manual’ is stimulated, it will turn everything around it into a part of itself."

"The greater the stimulus, the larger the area of effect. In theory..."

"...it could devour the entire world!"

Hm?

The lab-coated man’s expression froze.

"The Treasure Manual’s ability to warp reality is nearly impossible to counter. Once activated, it doesn’t just change physical matter; even thoughts are affected. I once saw a Martial Saint merge with a wall, and he was completely unaware of what was happening until he lost consciousness entirely."

General Lin took another puff of his pipe, slowly exhaling a thin line of white smoke.

"Now..."

"The stimulus the Treasure Manual received was far greater than ever before. Even satellites hundreds of thousands of meters from Funeng City have been affected. The range is still expanding... the nearby Safe Cities are all finished."

"No!"

He shook his head gently.

"Perhaps..."

"...our world is already finished."

General Lin raised his hand and looked at the pipe, which was now fused to his fingers. A bitter smile appeared on his face.

"The apocalypse..."

"...is here."